They have an axe to grind

Posted February 13th, 2018, 11:21 AM IST

Pegged as one of dance music's most interesting acts, Israeli DJ-cum-producer duo Dori Sadovnik and Niv Arzi aka Red Axes is all set to take music buffs in namma ooru by storm, as part of their three cities India Tour! Based out of Tel Aviv, an innate curiosity about the sounds of the tabla, sitar and bansuri is what brings them to India. Red Axes’s genre-hopping music has touched and evolved over the past decade – and is best described as a melange of post-punk and psychedelia-laced house and disco tunes. In a candid chat, the artistes share the inside track with us, just as they are all set to set to perform live for the Indian audience...

“To be honest, we don't know a lot about Bengaluru. And, this is why we are so excited to play there for the first time. This our first trip to India and also we are going to record with some local musicians and play for new audiences. So this is really very exciting for us and we are expecting and looking forward to a fun and meaningful experience,” states Niv Arzi. The duo has performed across Europe, including Sonar, Dekmantel and Glastonbury. And India is on the cards, this time. They will be performing in Delhi (February 16), Bengaluru (February 17) and Mumbai (February 18). But, the adulation and opportunities didn’t come easy. Quite like most success stories, theirs is a humble one – of two friends, who began rustling up some good music in the basements of Amsterdam and the streets of Tel Aviv. “We began to make music together when we were 15 years old, just two guitars and vocals. After that, we made a band called Red Cotton and we even had an album called Memory Car. After the band broke up, we (Niv and Dori) began to explore the club and dance music scene more and more, and began to produce electronic tracks and songs independently. We decided on the name Red Axes for the project and that was 10 years ago! The rest as they say is history. We are also very grateful.”

‘Future past electricity music’ – well, that’s how they would like to describe the vibe of their music. A decade into the music scene, Red Axes has successfully managed to woo music junkies world over with their house music’s rhythmic precision to guitar licks and weathered drum kits. Speaking about the evolution and how they tackle challenges, Dori states, “As a duo, there are pros and cons like everything else, we’ve had arguments and different opinions in the past, still have them and will continue to do so in the future probably. But we understand that it’s a normal thing and with time we learn more and more to compromise with each other.”

This India tour aside, the boys also have some interesting projects lined up. “We have a few exciting projects coming up like an album with DJ Tennis, a show in Israel with a big orchestra and more releases on new labels. But for now, we have our full attention on this trip to India and the experience that awaits us.”

Red Axes will be performing live on February 17 at Koramangala Social.